Level Seven

The Manila Diaries

Being or Doing

6 July 2012

82 degrees Fahrenheit, Scattered Thunder Storms, Humidity 76%

It’s been a week of ups and downs.  The Ups relate to emerging positive opportunities to do with work and business, the Downs are that each situation is taking longer to progress than I would have thought and therefore causing some anxiety and frustration.  So this down-time has given me space for some deep reflection.

I thought I would take some time-out and follow my instincts in terms of what I would do each day.  This reminded me of the debate that sometimes comes about when talking about the difference between ‘Being’ and ‘Doing’.  I know that often when asked to describe who I am I usually end up describing what I do as for me my identity is strongly linked to what I do and in most social situations (rather than academic debates) this is the sort of answer that is expected to the question, who are you?

With some time on my hands I tried a little experiment these last two weeks.  I have tried to just ‘Be’ in the world, i.e. not worry too much about taking specific actions (Doing) and actually just trying to go with the flow.  However, unless I sit still and contemplate or meditate then I have found that trying to ‘Be’ is intrinsically linked with what I do.  So, it seems that Being and Doing have a causal relationship.  However, what I have found that is interesting is that in trying not to worry too much about what I am doing has released my thinking process and allowed me moments to think about my thoughts and reflect on what these could mean in terms of possible future actions.  I have also been able to become a keener observer of what is going on around me. 

My feelings in the first week of this experiment of anxiety and frustration seem to have now taken a back seat and I am feeling more at ease with both my current and potential situations.  The ability to ‘let go’ has been liberating.

My conclusions are that I feel fortunate to have had this luxury of being able to take time out from what would normally be a busy schedule but the benefits resulting from having some ‘thinking  time and space’ may well enhance different areas of one’s personal life.  I would recommend taking time out even if only for short bursts, as it does help to re-charge the batteries.

And finally, the weather, it is still very hot with longer bursts of rain but with the rain comes a cooler temperature and I’m all for that!

Signing off for now

Our Correspondent in Manila